--- title: "Stove Types — Built-In, Column, French Door and More" description: "Gas, electric, induction and heritage stoves such as AGA and La Cornue." url: "https://stoverepair.center/types/" --- Start with what you own # Stove types, told apart. Two stoves can look alike from the doorway and heat in entirely different ways. A gas stove burns fuel under its grates and in its oven, an electric stove heats coils or a glass top and bakes with elements, an induction stove turns the pan into the heat source, and a heritage stove keeps cast-iron plates and heavy ovens hot for hours. Knowing which one is yours settles part of the repair question before anyone comes. ## Four types, each its own job. Each one is built, reached and repaired differently. Open yours for what fails on it and what the work involves. ### Gas stove A stove with gas burners on top, whether its oven below runs on gas too or on electricity, fed by one gas line behind it and plugged into a wall outlet for the spark. ### Electric stove A stove that runs entirely on electricity through a heavy cord and a large outlet behind it, with coil burners that lift out or a smooth glass stovetop with elements under it. ### Induction stove A stove with a flat glass top that heats the pan itself through a magnetic field, run by touch keys and power boards, with an electric oven underneath. ### Heritage stove Classic stoves built the old way, from AGA cast-iron heat storage stoves to French and Italian enamel stoves with brass trim, kept for decades and repaired rather than replaced. Not sure which you have? ### Start from what it is doing If the stove in your kitchen does not obviously match one of these, work from the symptom instead. It reaches the same answer from the other end. 17 problems In order of cost What to check first Go to the problems ## Which one is yours? One look at the stove usually settles it. The first sign of each type is on the right; its page has the rest, and what that type means for a repair. [Gas or electric](https://stoverepair.center/guides/gas-or-electric-stove-for-a-remodel/) ### Gas Gas stove When you turn a knob you hear a quick ticking, and a ring of flame appears under the pot within a few seconds. ### Electric Electric stove There is no flame and no ticking: the burners warm up slowly and glow orange or red when they are on high. ### Induction Induction stove The top is one sheet of glass with no visible coils, and the zones do not glow red when they are on. ### Heritage Heritage stove The body is heavy enamel or cast iron in a color such as cream, deep blue or red, with brass, chrome or nickel rails and knobs. ## What a repair usually costs. When weighing a stove repair, picture the whole bill for a new stove, not the price on the showroom tag: delivery, hauling the old one away, a new gas connector or cord, and a slide-in model that must match the gap and the counter edge you already have. Against that, igniters, coils, sockets, knobs, hinges and oven elements are nearly always worth replacing. A new stove tends to make sense only when a glass top and a control board fail together on an older stove, the board for your model is no longer made, or rust has come through the oven floor. [Diagnostic visit](https://stoverepair.center/services/diagnostic-visit/): Your stove is priced after it has been tested. [Read the full cost guide](https://stoverepair.center/cost/) | Repair | Relative cost | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | [Gas burner head, cap, orifice or valve](https://stoverepair.center/services/stove-burner-repair/) | low to moderate | Cleaning, reseating and adjusting a burner often needs no part. A new head or cap is a small cost, while a burner valve sits higher because the stovetop is opened and every joint is leak-tested afterward. | | [Electrode, spark switch or spark module](https://stoverepair.center/services/igniter-and-spark-switch-repair/) | low | An electrode or a single spark switch is a small part reached from the top of the stove. A spark module costs a little more and is reached from the back or under the stovetop. | | [Coil burner, socket or drip pan](https://stoverepair.center/services/coil-burner-and-socket-repair/) | lowest | Coils, sockets and drip pans are among the least costly parts on any stove. Renewing burned wire ends behind a socket adds a few minutes, not much more. | | [Glass stovetop, element or induction coil](https://stoverepair.center/services/glass-stovetop-repair/) | moderate to highest | An element or limiter under the glass stays toward the middle of the scale. A whole new glass top, made for one model, is one of the costliest jobs a stove can need, and more so on an induction stove. | | [Oven element, igniter, gas valve or sensor](https://stoverepair.center/services/stove-oven-heating-repair/) | low to moderate | A bake or broil element and a temperature sensor are modest parts fitted from inside the oven. A gas oven igniter sits in the middle, and a gas safety valve comes out higher. | | [Knob, stem or burner switch](https://stoverepair.center/services/knob-and-switch-replacement/) | low | A knob on its own is minor. A switch behind a knob takes a short job with the power off, and scorched wire ends on it are renewed during the same visit. | | [Control board, keypad or display](https://stoverepair.center/services/control-board-and-display-repair/) | moderate | A reseated connector or a cleared lock costs little. A keypad or a display board lands in the middle, and an induction power board pushes the job toward the top of the scale. | | [Oven door hinges, seal or lock](https://stoverepair.center/services/stove-door-and-hinge-repair/) | low | Hinges are replaced in pairs and a seal clips in, both from the front of the stove. A door lock on a self-cleaning stove, or door glass, adds a little more. | | [Gas connector, cord or anti-tip bracket](https://stoverepair.center/services/stove-gas-and-power-hookup-check/) | low | A new connector, cord or bracket is an inexpensive part. Most of the time goes into sliding the stove out safely, leak-testing each fitting and setting it back square. | For the heart of your home. ## Questions about the types. ### What counts as a heritage stove? A stove built the old way and kept for decades, such as an AGA or another cast-iron cooker that stays warm all day, or a hand-finished European stove from La Cornue or ILVE. Their owners simply call them the stove, and their parts, weight and fuel setups call for a technician who knows them. ### Why does the kind of stove I have change the repair? It decides how the heat is made, which parts wear out and what sits behind the panels. Two gas stoves from different makers often fail in the same spots, while an induction stove and a gas stove from one maker share almost nothing inside. ### Are induction stoves harder to fix than gas or electric ones? They need different skills rather than more luck. There is no flame and no glowing coil; boards under the glass drive copper coils, and a pan the stove will not heat sometimes comes down to the pan's base and not the stove at all. Induction boards usually fit one model family only, so a careful diagnosis comes first. ### What should I say about my stove when I book? Gas, propane, electric or induction, the width, whether it is freestanding or slides in between the counters, and roughly how old it is. For an AGA or another heritage stove, add how it is fueled and whether it runs all the time. That tells us which parts to bring and how long to set aside. --- **[Read on the site: Stove Types — Built-In, Column, French Door and More](https://stoverepair.center/types/)** **[Book a visit with StoveRepair.center](https://stoverepair.center/schedule/)**